Frank paid for me to fill up the gas tank of my car, then we drove back to his house. Tammy was outside of the house now, and they both insisted on hugging me goodbye. While I was hugging Frank, he slipped a wad of cash into my pocket.Immediately, I pulled away to give it back to him.“Keep it,” he
The officer who called my name escorted me out of the holding tank and then out toward the front of the police station, where Dylan was loudly replaying the recorded conversation from my wrongful arrest.“I want Miss Whitaker released right now, or I will sue the entire department,” Dylan loudly ann
“Hazel, thank God.” He rushed to me, threw his arms around me, and held me close.Finally, after hours and hours of feeling on edge, adrenaline surging with fear and worry…Finally, I could relax. And I did, sinking fully into the safety of Logan’s embrace.“We have to get her a new phone,” Dylan sa
I slipped into bed with Logan, who roused awake at the slight jostling of the bed.“Hazel?” he asked.“It’s me.”Rolling toward me, he opened his arms. I quickly took my place in the space between them.“Do you feel better now?” he asked, his voice groggy with sleep.“Infinitely,” I replied.“Good.”
Dylan made several phone calls that morning, while Logan worked from home, and I nervously scrolled through some news websites covering the story and the false information spread about me.The misinformation was detrimental. People were accusing me of purposefully becoming Logan’s secretary just so
The person we were meeting was already sitting at a table. Dylan spotted her first and rushed over.“Mabel,” he said. She stood up and they embraced as friends. When they separated, Dylan turned to Logan and me. “This is Mabel Fritz. Mabel, this is Logan Hatfield and Hazel Whitaker.”Mabel shook Log
Watching Hazel regain her confidence inspired Logan, who had been worried for the past few days. He’d been afraid to leave her alone, knowing she was frightened. Wanting to support her as best as he could, he switched to working from his laptop so he could be there if she needed him.But now, seeing
“Of course it is. Give the phone to Mr. Carlisle now.”Logan wanted to hang up but it wasn’t the poor new guy’s fault that Grandfather was the absolute worst. Logan passed over the phone.Mr. Carlisle accepted it without question. “Yes, Sir,” he said into the receiver. “Of course, Sir. At once, Sir.
“I’ve been in this game for too long,” Senior said. “When I first got the news, I could only think about my legacy. I became obsessed with it. I’m not like you, Walter. I didn’t think about my family, or anyone else. Only myself.” “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks,” Mr. Hudgens said. He la
“Janice,” Senior said. All smug arrogance disappeared from his voice. “What are you doing here?” “At first I didn’t think I would come,” Janice replied. “After all these years… I didn’t want to see your face ever again for as long as I lived. Better to leave well enough alone. But… after hearing e
I glanced down at my pink blouse and gray slacks. What was so wrong with my outfits? I dressed professionally… mostly. He really thought I needed supervision to pick out an outfit.Looking at Logan, I saw my own disbelief mirrored back at me. This was absolutely ridiculous.“Is that it?” Walter aske
In front of the partition screen, a large table had been assembled, with rows of chairs on either side, facing each other. We took our side, and Senior and his team of lawyers took theirs. There were so many lawyers that many of them had to stand.Senior sat across from Logan, though his glare of di
“He might surprise us,” Dylan said, a shred of hope in his voice, under a healthy level of cynicism.“Don’t hold your breath,” Frank replied.“The problem is we don’t know fully what to expect,” Mabel said. “Well – other than Senior being a crotchety asshole who will try to cheat us at every turn. W
“It’s time to talk to Logan and Hazel and stop this whole thing,” Dylan said. “You are outnumbered and outmatched, with so many people ready to stand against you.”Opening the top of the folder, Senior glared down at the stack of papers in the stack. “Disgruntled former employees. Fake friends. Fami
“We were just hoping to talk to her,” I said.The man’s brow lifted slightly. “Are you selling something? Wait -- why do you look familiar?” Narrowing his eyes, he gazed at us with suspicion. Then, suddenly, recognition must have struck him because his eyes widened. “You’re those people from the new
Despite the general unpleasantness of the conversation with the mayor and the governor, they eventually agreed to let us go. They had no real reason to hold us, and Logan saw through their veiled threats easily enough.In fact, he even seemed to make them feel to make them feel like unsupportive fri
That day, we changed our minds and decided to release six interviews to the website, with Michael Hatfield’s being the final. Overnight, the story gained so much national traction that the sheriff and two security men show up at our door.“Logan Hatfield? Hazel Whitaker? The mayor wants to speak wit